Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Papua New Guinea (Ratification: 2000)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that women and children were trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. It requested the Government to take the necessary measures, as a matter of urgency, to adopt legislation prohibiting the sale and trafficking of both boys and girls under 18, for the purposes of labour and sexual exploitation.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is addressing this issue through the adoption of the People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Bill which would amend the Criminal Code to include a provision prohibiting human trafficking, including children under the age of 18 years, for labour and sexual exploitation. However, the Committee notes that according to a survey conducted in 2012 within the framework of the Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in Papua New Guinea project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), trafficking for the purpose of forced labour, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, including child trafficking, is occurring at a high rate in the country. Female children were indicated as over twice as vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking than male children. The Committee further notes that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of 30 July 2010, expressed concern that there are no specific laws addressing trafficking-related problems and about cross-country trafficking, which involves commercial sex as well as exploitative labour (CEDAW/C/PNG/CO/3, paragraph 31). The Committee, therefore, urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Bill, without delay, and to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of persons who commit the offence of trafficking of children are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of the People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Bill, once it has been adopted.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (e). Taking into account the special situation of girls. 1. Child victims of prostitution. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the number of girls (some as young as 13) who engaged in prostitution as a means of survival was a growing problem in both urban and rural areas. Moreover, the Committee also noted that the laws prohibiting prostitution were selectively or rarely enforced, even in cases involving children.

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on the measures taken or envisaged to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee notes that, according to the findings of the rapid assessment conducted in Port Moresby during 2010–11, there are an increasing number of girls involved in commercial sexual exploitation. The most common age at which girls engaged in prostitution is 15 years (34 per cent), while 41 per cent of the children are sex workers before the age of 15 years. The survey report further indicated that girls as young as 10 years are also involved in sex work. The Committee once again expresses its deep concern at the prevalence of the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Papua New Guinea. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to remove children, particularly girls under 18 years of age from prostitution, and provide for their rehabilitation and social integration.

2. “Adopted” children. The Committee previously noted the observation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that indebted families sometimes pay off their dues by sending children – usually girls – to their lenders for domestic servitude. The ITUC indicated that “adopted” children usually worked long hours, lacked freedom of mobility or medical treatment, and did not attend school. The Committee also noted the Government’s indication that the practice of “adoption” is a cultural tradition in Papua New Guinea. The Committee observed that these “adopted” girls often fall prey to exploitation, as it was difficult to monitor their working conditions, and it requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to protect these children.

In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s reference to the Lukautim Pikinini Act of 2009 which provided for the protection of children with special needs. According to the Lukautim Pikinini Act, a person who has a child with special needs in his/her care but who is unable to provide the services required for the upbringing of a child may enter into a special needs agreement with the Family Support Service. Under these agreements, financial assistance may be provided. Pursuant to section 41 of the Lukautim Pikinini Act, the definition of a “child with special needs” includes children who have been orphaned, displaced or traumatized as a result of natural disasters, conflicts or separation, or children who are vulnerable to violence, abuse or exploitation.

The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any additional information on this issue. The Committee expresses its concern at the situation of “adopted” children under 18 years of age who are compelled to work under conditions similar to bonded labour or under hazardous conditions. It once again requests the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure, in law and in practice, that “adopted” children under 18 years of age may not be exploited under conditions equivalent to bonded labour or under hazardous conditions, taking account of the special situation of girls. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of “adopted” children engaged in exploitative and hazardous work who have benefited from special needs agreements.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.